Ubisoft has released a gallery of early concept art for Assassin's Creed, showing off how the game could have looked and played.

One of the images, of the assassin rescuing a child, reveals that the art team originally thought they were working on a Prince of Persia title. "We were all under the illusion that we were making a Prince of Persia: Sands of Time spin-off," said artist Khai Nguyen. "The assassin was supposed to be the little prince's bodyguard."

Another image shows two horses racing side-by-side. Nguyen adds, "We debated whether or not co-op was going to make it into the first game.”

Have a look below, there’s some beautiful images in there. They date from November 2004, three years before the first Assassin’s Creed hit shelves.